1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a server apparatus for which setting information can be changed through an input operation from a client apparatus connected to a network and an information processing method used by the server apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for example, client apparatuses such as personal computers are connected to a network of server apparatuses, such as printer apparatuses, that are connected by LAN cables; and processing at a server apparatus is executed in response to a processing request transmitted from one of the client apparatuses.
Specifically, for example, a setting change request that requests the changing of server apparatus setting information is transmitted as a processing request, from a client apparatus and the server apparatus that receives the setting change request changes the setting information thereof based on the received setting change request. If a client apparatus connected through the network is to change the setting information of each server apparatus, the assignment of a unique IP address to each server apparatus is necessary to identify each of the server apparatuses.
For example, if a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server is on the network, an IP address can be assigned to each of the server apparatuses via the network, by using the DHCP server. On the other hand, if no DHCP server is on the network, the operator has to perform the task of assigning an IP address to each of the server apparatuses.
The task of assigning an IP address to each of the server apparatuses when no DHCP server is on the network is troublesome and complicated. Therefore, according to a conventional technology, for example, in a network of client apparatuses and server apparatuses connected by a TCP/IP network, where each server apparatus has an I/F card for connecting to the TCP/IP network, a client apparatus that wants to set an IP address for a printer apparatus broadcasts on the TCP/IP network, a setting packet that includes the address of the I/F card of the targeted printer apparatus. Each server apparatus receives the broadcasted setting packet and if the address of the I/F card included in the received setting packet coincides with the address of the I/F card of the server apparatus, the server apparatus changes the settings thereof according to the setting packet (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3645401).
Further, for example, according to a conventional technology, a client apparatus transmits a search request to multiple servers on a network; receives search response from server apparatuses that have received the search request; transmits to a server apparatus selected from among the server apparatuses that transmitted a search response, an address setting request that includes address information concerning the apparatus to be set; and receives from the server apparatus that has received the address setting request, an address setting response that includes address information for the server apparatus (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-98640).
Further, for example, according to a conventional technology, when a request is received that is for the reading out of setting information and broadcasted by a client apparatus, setting information that includes a media access control (MAC) address, an IP address, and a machine name preliminarily set for each server apparatus is read out and if the setting information has not been set, setting information indicating the read out machine name to be identical to the read out MAC address is broadcasted in return. If the machine name of the returned setting information coincides with the MAC address, it is clear at the client server that the setting information of the server apparatus that gave this response has not been set and setting changes are performed for only the server apparatus for which setting information has not been set (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4030865).
Conventionally, each time a request transmitted from a client server is received, the received request is stored to a nonvolatile recording medium such as an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) and processing corresponding to the received request is successively executed. On the nonvolatile recording medium, information related to the request previously received is overwritten by information related to the newest request.
When receiving substantially simultaneously multiple requests respectively transmitted from multiple client apparatuses, such a conventional server apparatus updates the nonvolatile recording medium and executes processing corresponding to the received requests, upon receiving each request. For example, when requests for the changing of setting information are received substantially simultaneously, in the conventional server apparatus, only the setting information based on the newest request (temporally, the latest received request) is valid.
However, with the conventional technologies above, a problem arises in that when the same processing request is received by the server apparatus, from multiple client apparatuses during the timing of a given period, despite the processing corresponding to the same process request previously received becoming invalid, the processing is executed each time the processing request is received and consequently, the processing load of the server apparatus, consequent to the processing request increases.
Further, if the processing requests received substantially simultaneously are requests from the client apparatus that transmitted the processing request, for transmission of response information, irrespective of the transmitted information being the same, the response information is transmitted each time the processing request is received from the client apparatus and therefore, the processing load of the server apparatus, consequent to the processing according to the processing request increases.
Furthermore, if the processing requests received substantially simultaneously are requests from the client apparatus that transmitted the processing request, for transmission of response information, irrespective of the transmitted information being the same, the response information is transmitted each time the processing request is received from the client apparatus and therefore, traffic on the network increases, raising concern of traffic related trouble occurring on the network. Specifically, for example, a problem arises in that there is concern that delays in the transmission and reception of data at the client apparatuses and server apparatuses configuring the network may occur consequent to increased traffic.
In the conventional technologies, when multiple requests are received substantially simultaneous, only the execution result based on the newest request is valid, however, irrespective of previously received requests becoming invalid, the contents of the nonvolatile recording medium are changed (overwritten) each time a request is received. In other words, with the conventional technologies above, a problem arises in that deterioration of the nonvolatile recording medium is promoted consequent to information related to invalid requests also being recorded to the nonvolatile recording medium.
To solve the problems of the conventional technologies above, an object of the present invention is to provide a server apparatus and information processing method that can reduce the processing load on the server apparatus, consequent to processing in response to a processing request and that can suppress increases in traffic on the network.
Further, to solve the problems of the conventional technologies above, an object of the present invention is to provide a sever apparatus and information processing method that can suppress the deterioration of the nonvolatile recording medium.